Alvar Aalto Furniture And Glass

Alvar Aalto's furniture designs are a superb example of an uncompromising spirit that has managed to overcome the boundaries of style and taste, fashion and social class. The nearly 300 illustrations in this book, many in full color, document the range of Aalto's accomplishments from his first known work to the latest bentwood variations by Artek Studio, and include the architect's own working sketches.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is the most prestigious Finnish architect of the last century, and the father of Nordic Modernism. He once said, God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper. In the U.S. Aalto's critical reception began with his design for the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 World Fair in New York: Frank Lloyd Wright described it as a work of genius. After World War II, Aalto also designed MIT's student dormitory. Prior to this, the architect's Paimio Sanatorium (1929) and Viipuri Library (1935), both in Finland, had already attracted international praise. He was also an outstanding town planner, painter and sculptor. Aalto's Modernism entailed the use of natural materials, warm colors, and undulating lines, and he is considered an important early exponent of Organic Design as a result. Of his design work outside of architecture, Aalto's vases, lamps, glassware and laminated bent-plywood furniture (pioneered and produced through the design company he co-founded, Artek) are equally esteemed. Iconic pieces include the Savoy Vase, the Paimio Chair and the Beehive Lamp. This monograph on Aalto's highly collectible furniture designs expands our understanding of the diverse abilities of this influential architect/designer.

"The story of Alvar Aalto's furniture, from his first known work in 1919 to the latest bentwood variations by Artek, has been reconstructed here in four articles. Mr. Igor Herler, architect and scholar, reveals hitherto unknown designs of Aalto's youth ; Mr. Göran Schildt, Ph.D., author and Aalto's biographer, studies the evolution of his "trademark", the bentwood furniture, and the creation of the Artek company ; Ms. Marja-Liisa Parko, interior architect, formerly employed in the Artek Design Studio, recalls the relations between Aalto and the Artek Studio and touches on some of the technical aspects of production ; and finally, Ms. Elissa Aalto, Alvar's wife and partner, in collaboration with Ms. Marja-Riitta Norri, writes on fixed furniture in Aalto's architecture as an organic extension of his designs for standard furniture." -- p. 11.

Best known for the production of Aalto's famous bentwood furniture, Artek was a multifaceted design company that created numerous innovative products. This extensively illustrated book is based on an extraordinary range of newly discovered archival materials that shed new light on Artek's history. It looks at the close working relationship between Alvar Aalto and Aino Marsio-Aalto, and the critical roles they played in its establishment and development internationally. Reissued in hard cover and with an enlarged trim size, greater prominence is given to the more than 500 drawings and photographs, including a selection never-before published. The addition of a chronology that traces the parallel history of Artek and the Aalto office offers an unprecedented understanding of the many projects they created together. The original text received the 2018 Philip Johnson Award for outstanding exhibition catalogue by the Society of Architectural Historians.